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Test No.1396
v | test_number = 1396 | date = 29,30,31 January, 1,2 February 1998 | venue = Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica | toss = England, who chose to bat | result = Match Abandoned | man_of_the_match = | umpires = SA Bucknor & S Venkataraghavan (India) | last_test = | next_test = | }} After the third ball of the match flew off a length past the England captain's nose, one alleged sage turned to his neighbour in the press box and whispered: Well, we can rule out a draw, that's for sure. This was proved wrong with astonishing rapidity. After just 56 minutes' cricket, the contest - which enthusiasts had been looking forward to with relish for months - was called off in sensational and, at this level, unprecedented circumstances because the umpires considered the pitch to be dangerous.Sixty-one balls (and a no-ball) were bowled in that time, and the England physio Wayne Morton came on to the field six times to attend batsmen who had suffered direct hits from Ambrose and Walsh. Neither bowled exceptionally well, by their standards. It was unnecessary; almost anyone could have propelled a hard ball lethally off such a surface.Jamaican officials had decided to re-lay the pitch to avoid losing West Indies' traditional advantage over England by playing on the slow, low surface Sabina had become. However, work started less than six months before the game, and there was no time for the soil to bed down. The wicket was not as ugly as the fissured horror of Perth a year earlier, but it never rolled flat, and failed to bind together.It rapidly became clear that the batsmen were suffering more than the normal terrors England players expect when confronted with a fired-up West Indies attack. They lost three wickets quickly: Butcher for a golden duck. But observers quickly sensed these might be trivial details. The ball was moving so unpredictably that a serious injury looked a near-certainty. Umpire Venkat was on the walkie-talkie to referee Barry Jarman after three overs but, under Law 3, the fitness of the pitch remains the umpires' responsibility whether there is a referee or not, and Jarman could only offer moral support.After Stewart was hit for the third time and Thorpe for the second, the end was in sight. Atherton, the England captain, came on to the field and got agreement from his opposite number, Lara, that the game could not go on. After ten minutes' discussion, the umpires led the players off and the final decision to abandon came nearly an hour later. Stewart was left on what was widely agreed to be the most heroic nine not out in history. Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Atherton, 2.1 ov), 2-4 (Butcher, 2.2 ov), 3-9 (Hussain, 7.2 ov) Did not bat: JP Crawley, AJ Hollioake, AR Caddick, DW Headley, ARC Fraser, PCR Tufnell '''West Indies: SC Williams, SL Campbell, BC Lara*, S Chanderpaul, CL Hooper, JC Adams, D Williams†, NAM McLean, IR Bishop, CEL Ambrose, CA Walsh England: MA Atherton, AJ Stewart†, MA Butcher, N Hussain, GP Thorpe, JP Crawley, AJ Hollioake, AR Caddick, DW Headley, ARC Fraser, PCR Tufnell Match details *'Series:' 6-match series level 0-0 *'Test debuts:' NAM McLean (West Indies) *'TV umpire:' JR Gayle *'Match referee:' BN Jarman (Australia) Close of play *Thu, 29 Jan - day 1 - match abandoned *Fri, 30 Jan - day 2 - cancelled *Sat, 31 Jan - day 3 - cancelled *Sun, 1 Feb - day 4 - cancelled *Mon, 2 Feb - day 5 - cancelled Match notes Day 1 *Play was suspended after 10.1 overs (56 minutes) after the batsmen had been struck several times by balls which lifted dangerously off a length. Lengthy discussions ensured and after another 10 minutes the players left the field. An hour-and-a-half later the match was abandoned. *An additional Test was scheduled for 5-9 February at Port-of-Spain *David Richards, the ICC chief executive, said: "It is possible for ICC to rule that the match should be scrubbed out, but I think it is unlikely." Eventually it was ruled that the Test was valid and all performances counted towards career records Images= Test No.1396.2.jpg Test No.1396.3.jpg Test No.1396.4.jpg Test No.1396.5.jpg Test No.1396.6.jpg Test No.1396.7.jpg Test No.1396.8.jpg Test No.1396.9.jpg Test No.1396.10.jpg Test No.1396.11.jpg Test No.1396.12.jpg Test No.1396.13.jpg External links *Scorecard at Cricinfo.com Category:Test Matches Category:1998 Test matches